


The Beast to Hunt

by Megane



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Bounty Hunters, Claiming, Desire, F/M, Hunters & Hunting, Hypnotism, Kissing, Minor Character Death, Multiple Voices, Mysticism, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Secrets, Soul Bond, Voice Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 15:17:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7057795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megane/pseuds/Megane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Emperor has called a blood hunt. He has placed a significant bounty on the capture of a siren; while many cannot fathom what he would do with that power, there are those who are taking up arms to gain that reward. Silva, a warrior in his own right, is curious about the reward, but the so-called siren is far more interesting to him.</p><p>The hunt is on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Beast to Hunt

He heard many stories about the siren. Men and women whispered warnings to their children. Merchants gabbed loudly in bazars while concerned citizens hammered notices on the boards. Warriors from all around tried to seize the siren and claim the hefty reward. The Emperor promised fame, fortune, and glory for generations to come if the beast was captured and brought before him. What the Emperor wanted with the siren was anyone's guess. Few people cared, however, and the ones that did worried about him attaining such power. They kept their fear quiet and whispered their worries along with the rumours.

Silva, admittedly, was interested in the fortune, but the thrill of the hunt far outweighed any desire he had for coin. It was more than enough to keep his interest. For weeks, he mulled over the idea of taking on the creature. He wanted to find out where it lived and hunt it on equal territory. Once the consideration grew into a desire, Silva began to question anyone who knew anything factual about the siren – where it lived, what it looked like, who among them lived to tell the tale of seeing its face and facing it head on.

Once he had what he needed, Silva gained word that there were other warriors aspiring to take on the siren creature. They were meeting at a nearby popina, and there he went.

Silva sat with ten other hopefuls as they were brief on their target and mission. The others learned what Silva himself had already found out: the siren had long black hair and could occasionally be seen dressed as a noble woman. She lived near bodies of water and preferred sacred waterways. Her current haunt was near the Belphue River. There had been a number of witnesses who had seen her though none approached. Very smart, Silva figured. He rested his chin on the back of his hand as he glanced around to the other fighters. One more had come to join them. A well-muscled woman about his girth, though perhaps shorter than he was. She scanned around the room as well and soon met Silva's gaze. She nodded at him, and he uncurled his fingers in acknowledgement of her.

The official half of the meeting was short but informational. They were all detailed on how to approach mystical creatures, and those who appeared more skilled with weapons were given names of talented blacksmiths, should they need the assistance. The second half of the meeting devolved into a shouting match between eight of the other hunters. Silva took that moment to slide out of his seat and head towards the door. Other patrons exited as he did. Some muttered to themselves about noise and not having any other place to drink. Two of the hunters joined him, saying that they were headed to the blacksmiths. They assumed he would go as well.

After a nod, Silva watched the two men leave; he turned when he felt a warm hand cup his shoulder.

Ordinarily, Silva didn't acknowledge no name hunters, but this woman seemed worth his time. She opened out her hand and revealed a small, dried mushroom, which she then extended out to him.

        “I have scoured many popinae for a worthy owner. You are he.”

       “And what should I do with this?” Silva asked, plucking the mushroom up with the tips of his fingers.

       “This puts the beast in a daze,” she replied, pulling herself away. She glanced over her shoulder when she was a few steps away. “Oh, and she is no siren. Beware her gaze all the same.”

       “Wait.”

       “Yes?”

Silva thought to ask for her name. He stared down at the mushroom in his hand before curling his fingers around the item. He nodded his head. “I expect to have a drink with you as a sign of my appreciation.”

       “You expect to return with the creature?”

       “I expect to return,” Silva said simply. “For better or for worse.”

       The woman nodded. “For better, for worse. I will keep a look out. Until then, travel well.”

Silva watched as she took her leave. He did not see a reason to stop her again. He looked down once more to the mushroom in his hand before tucking it away for safe keeping. First, he would head to the blacksmith, and then he would return to his home where he would prepare for his journey.

                                                          * * *

There were eleven of them that met at the popina. Twelve, if the woman was to be counted, but she wasn't among them now when it was time to leave. Seven of them rode out with Silva, and nine of them were dead before they even reached the foot of the river. Silva wasn't surprised. After riding over the bridge and through the fields leading towards Belphue, Silva dismounted his horse and turned it around. He gently guided it back over the edge of the bridge, hoping that it would stay out of sight in the fields. If not, at the very least, it would return home. The others followed his lead, but one man cursed them all and rode off into the distance. As the remaining group stalked forward, they heard a panicked cry and the horse whinny. Silva looked over his shoulder to the other hunters. Some looked shaken, but none broke away from the tight little pack they made.

As they headed upstream, they noticed that there was a body caught in the current but trapped against the rock. It didn't look anything like the man who charged ahead. “Must have been one of the others,” someone muttered within the pack. Silva reached up a hand and thumbed at his nose. He couldn't say that he was surprised, but as far as he knew, that wasn't going to be him.

The group split up near a gnarled white tree. At least two of them had a way that they wanted to go, and Silva agreed that he worked alone. Two of the hunters smiled daggers at each other and promised that they would work together to bring down the she-beast. Silva found them later postured on each others' sword. He knew it wouldn't work out.

He wasn't surprised when he was the only one to make it to the end of the river. He wasn't sure what happened to the others; it would have been wise to suspect that all of them had been killed. Perhaps one of them gained better senses and returned home. That would have been preferable considering the immaturity of the other hunters, but he couldn't change what had already been done.

Silva knelt down behind a bush and waited for the beast to appear. He slowly removed his weapons and holsters. Any pouches he brought with him were set to the ground as well, except a tiny one carrying the gifted mushroom inside. He wasn't sure what it would do, but he took a gamble to trust in the mysterious woman. Even still, he had his weapons and was prepared for anything that the beast had prepared.

And so his waiting began. He smoothed down any grass with the flat of his sandal and rocked himself forward into a comfortable enough position so he didn't have to make many readjustments.

He waited for an hour and then another. He could hear the hurried trot of horses and then, without warning, it fell absolutely silent. Silva looked over his shoulder, but he couldn't see anything. He waited for another hour.

He kept himself busy by scouring the area, making sure that nothing was sneaking up on him and that he was safe in his position right where he was. A snake crept up to him. He could hear the gentle hiss. It crept up towards him and slowed its bodily movements. He could hear the creature breath out in a steady noise. He didn't want to take the chance that it would bite him. Without looking, Silva grabbed the snake and cast it off to the side. Its body rustled in the grass, but he didn't throw or hold it hard enough to hurt it. He just needed it out of the way. Soon after, his target appeared.

At first, there was a thick patch of haze in his vision. It was a slow build up, and when it persisted, Silva rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. The haze was still there, and so he waited it out. He was rewarded with the sight of the haze changing form. It tightened up into  a ball, lowered itself down to the water, and flattened against the surface. The haze began to dissolve in the water, and after a moment, something began to take shape under the surface. Slowly, a figure emerged with arms out at its sides. The figure's exhale was dual toned, raspy with one voice and feminine with the other. The two sounds reverberated through Silva's mind.

There was a sensation that his insides were being slowly flattened and then shifted around by idle fingers. He frowned in distaste, but he didn't shift about or vocalise his discomfort. As long as he was able to withstand it, he would stay knelt in his hiding spot, and so he did.

He sized up the new-woman before him. She reached up her hands to take her hair between her hands. She squeezed the long, black tresses. Water streamed back into the river, and there was a slight smile on her face. She was tall, Silva noticed. Her figure overall was very svelte. Her features were small; her mouth was thin but a bit wide on a woman's face. Her fingers were long and were perhaps the only inhuman thing he could pinpoint about her. He couldn't see her eyes; there was a thick curtain of wet hair that kept them from his scrutiny.

Her hands lowered down from her hair, and her arms lowered down to her sides, slightly out from the whole of her body. She exhaled again with more of a hiss. Her voices curled together and focused on him with more intent. Silva felt the weight of invisible hands pressing against him in his stomach and in his head. He dropped his gaze and leaned himself forward. He took in a deep breath, curling his fingers against the grass below him. He was amazed at his resistance. He had never interacted with a being such as her, and yet his mental fortitude was worth commending. He brought his head up and stared at her again. Could she sense him? Was she extending herself outward to draw prey closer into her domain? He almost wanted to find out. He reached over to grab a silver short sword, but then the creature turned her back on him and waded further into the water.

Whatever this was, this was no siren. The build was all wrong; the calling was much different. Her voices made something almost tangible inside of him, but he wasn't sure if it was an illusion or a mere extension of his power. Silva moved the tiny pouch up into the folds of his tunic and lifted himself up into a walking crouch. He parted the high grass with his body. He blinked only when the grass hit his face; the blade of his sword caught the sunlight once or twice as he advanced forward. Once out of the protective grass, Silva lifted himself higher so he was merely bending at the waist. His feet turned outward as he crept upon the woman, but in the space of a blink, she turned to face him. Her hands gently waved in the air, and her hair began to lift.

       “Aren't you a brave soul?” She asked, slowly tilting her head to the side.

Silva swore he could see another version of her in his left peripheral, but he didn't take his eyes off the woman in front of him.

       “I wanted to see what was so fearful about this siren people spoke of.”

The woman-creature leaned back and began laughing. Her voices multiplied; another copy appeared to Silva's right, and both copies laughed in a similar way. However, Silva was not shaken.

       “… But you are no siren.” He tilted his sword in his hand, weighing it in his palm and shifting its balance. “What matter of beast are you?”

       “Come now,” Kikyo said sweetly. She reached forward and ghosted closer towards Silva. She cupped his face between her hands. Silva could feel her nails prick his flesh as they trailed around to the back of his neck. “Don't you want to find out for yourself?”

Silva didn't reply. Instead he took in a calming breath through his nose and aimed his sword away from the woman's side. He trusted himself enough to land a hit regardless of the circumstances. He would not be easy prey for her. At his silence, Kikyo chuckled, and the noise echoed in Silva's ears. Her laugh wrapped around his mind and caressed his senses, though it was short lived.

Her hand reached up to comb her hair away from her face. Her eyes were revealed, and they were a majestic shade of magenta. When their gazes locked, Silva felt a sharp pain scrape against the interior of his mind, but… It was over as quickly as it happened. His lips pursed and flicked downward in that short instance, but otherwise, he stood tall.

This woman creature flinched, blinked at him dumbfounded. They stared at each other with a degree of awe and intrigue. Silva rotated his sword, aiming the blade backwards.

       “I may not know your breed, but grace me your name.”

       “… Kikyo,” she whispered to him. Her voice echoed again. The whisper was much less of a cage and more like a breeze he felt from within.

Silva turned his head down and thrust his knife into the ground. He felt some closeness to this beast, to Kikyo, but he wanted to know more. His clothes were wet, and he didn't mind whatsoever. Kikyo followed his actions with flowing movements. She stared at him, confusion evident on her face.

       “… Now why can't I affect you?”

Silva smiled up at the beast smugly. His hands went to her waist, and she seemed to shrink before him. She was still a tall woman, regardless, but not nearly as towering as she was before. She kept a loose hold on Silva's head.

       “I am more than brave,” Silva stated, leaving all other bragging unspoken but there.

       Kikyo nodded. “Indeed you are.”

They kept staring at each other, and Silva only just them remembered the nakedness of her body. She drew herself closer and pressed her wet form against him. Her fingers threaded the wavy locks of his hair. Her stare was heavy and curious. Silva could feel the unnatural touching of his insides, the scholarly scratching within his dome, but all of it was merely uncomfortable. Kikyo smiled at him, a wide and toothy grin.

       “I love you, and I will love you for every day that passes. I want you to be mine forever,” she finally said. “You aren't falling for any of my tricks.”

       “Tricks?” Silva asked without thinking.

       Kikyo laughed again, that inhuman reverb inside of his body, and looked back to him. “The fact that you don't even notice speaks volumes of your fortitude, dear man.”

       “Silva.”

       “Sil… va…” Kikyo purred the words, and _there_ was an impact. Silva felt as if his heart was punched. The wind briefly left him, and he glowered up at Kikyo, wondering if he managed to fall for one of her traps.

       Instead, she merely tilted her head to the left. “I've marked you. You are mine.”

       “I never agreed to that.”

       “And why would I leave our union to chance? You don't want to kill me, and I cannot easily trick you.”

       “You could still kill me,” Silva stated matter-of-factly.

       Kikyo smiled and trailed a finger against his cheek. “And you, me. However, I refuse to let such a strong will leave my courtship.”

       “And so other men before me have failed?”

       “Gender does not matter.” Kikyo flicked her hand as if to shrug, eyes fluttering closed. She looked back to him and pressed a finger to his chest. “But you are the first man in recent memory to stand to my wiles.”

She laughed again, and Silva wanted to pull more information from her. She moved her finger up and trailed it under his jaw. As Kikyo began to float backwards while still in his hold, Silva moved forward with her, trying to keep up. They waded into the water until it came up to Silva's waist, and then they turned left towards Kikyo's effects.

She eased herself against the edge of the shore, willingly trapping herself between Silva and the ground. She ran her hands over his shoulders and then down his chest, feeling the size of him and admiring him. Her brows raised when she bumped over something. Looking to Silva, she began to pull the item from within his tunic, but he didn't openly protest her. She opened it and inside found a mushroom.

       “You don't know my kind, but you have such a gem on your person?”

Silva looked to the mushroom, and before he could explain himself, Kikyo placed it on her tongue. He reacted just a second too late. He grabbed her by the wrist, and she smiled at him with her mouth closed.

       “Will you pull it from my mouth like an insolent child, Silva?” She teased. When Silva's hand tightened on her wrist, her eyes squinted in delight. “You beast,” she stated lowly before swallowing the mushroom.

After a moment of waiting, Kikyo groaned and leaned her head back. Her arms fell open at her sides, and for the time being, Silva was holding a limp woman-creature. His lips parted before he could speak; he reached a hand up to touch her face, and the touch made her moan softly.

Her laugh was breathy. She reached up to touch his hand and slowly leaned up to look at him again.

       “An addiction to my kind,” she whispered, “just a little is enough to sedate us.” She rubbed his hand with her thumb. “How could you have discovered an ingredient so like ambrosia?”

       Silva shook his head. “Does it matter?”

       Kikyo laughed again, quieter and behind closed lips. “I suppose it doesn't.” She took in a breath before continuing with, “So, brave warrior, what are your options now? Will you go to claim your reward?”

       After a second of thought, Silva replied with “No.”

       Kikyo leaned back slightly, amused. “No?”

       “I wish to know the extent of your powers, at least on something more than a shallow level.”

       “Then stop resisting.” Kikyo laughed, lowering her hand down to his wrist.

       “… How?”

       Kikyo stared at him before smiling up at him. “And a strange soul as well. Why are you so curious?”

       “I wish to know what makes you fearsome and to know that you are truly skilled and not merely a child's nightmare.”

       Kikyo's smile sharpened, and her eyes widened slightly. “Open your mind to me; accept me as your own thoughts, and I will show you the depth of my ire.”

       “May I die satisfied instead of live victoriously with regret.”

       Kikyo moaned softly and moved her hands into Silva's hair. She tugged the platinum locks and drew him closer. “Oh, Silva.”

He moved his hands from her body and placed them on the wet earth of the shore. Their pelvises pressed against each other; Silva's forward weight kept Kikyo pinned in place. She closed her eyes and bit her lip as he leaned against her. When she opened her eyes again, he was ready.

The swimming vision caught him by surprise. His entire world tilted as if she had snapped his neck, but he knew that wasn't the case. There was no burning or pain. Instead, it felt like she was pulling his soul out from his chest, trying to separate him at his core.

       “ **Silva, brave man and warrior. Do you feel me now?”**

        “Kikyo…” He groaned, turning his head away from her.

        Her laugh was haunting and gripped his lungs with each syllable. **“If you were anyone else, I would think you're foolish. Instead, I find you beautiful. Oh, how I love you in all of your humanity.”** She lovingly stroked his hair and kissed his face.

Her lips felt like ice and silk. She ran the tips of her fingers against his cheek, and Silva groaned in muted pain. She pressed her lips to his forehead.

       “ **This is where I live, Silva, in every adult, in every child. In every beast and every soul. I and my kind are never far from your shadow.”**

Silva's eyes closed, but he could feel her words overwhelming his senses. Despite him being disorientated by the display, he laughed. He could _feel_ Kikyo smiling, but the touch of her fingers and words were far more present. She sighed inside of him.

       “ **Touch me, Silva. Hold me as you did before.”** When he moved, his hands fell upon the soft curves of her hips. **“Kiss me.”**

She wrapped her arms around him, and Silva felt most of her influence lift from his soul. He opened his eyes, gasping as if resurfacing. She smiled at him and repeated her last command.

       “Kiss me,” she whispered with two voices.

Silva pulled her forward and crushed their bodies together. The kiss was immediate, reverent almost for the power she had over him. She was a monster, some being born outside of humanity though she wore the shell well. He was amazed by the sensation of her, and the darkness she veiled him in. Amazed, amazed! So when he kissed her, it was less because of the command but because he appreciated her power. He knew more of her than any other. He had concrete evidence of who she was and what she was capable of.

“What” she was merely escaped him, but as they kissed and as her hands roamed over his clothing, he found himself not caring.

Kikyo's hands dove under his tunic, and the garment bunched up around her wrists as she pushed up to his chest. She appreciated his body with hushed, multitudinous whispers in a tongue he was unfamiliar with, but the sounds were enough to make him tremble. Kikyo felt soft under his hands. He moved to cup her ribs, and his thumbs traced the curve of her breasts. Leaning forward, he kissed her again, swallowing the quiet, breathy moans as she fed them into him.

       When he pulled away, Kikyo laughed again. The noise was drunken but mirthful. “A mushroom! A single taste is enough to leave me wanting more. Oh, Silva. Promise me you have more.”

       “I do not.”

       “Who between us is the real beast? You allow me to swallow and tempt me with empty hands!”

       “I had no idea this would happen,” he admitted.

She squirmed beneath him and gently pushed him away. She crawled up onto the surface of the world and parted her legs for him. Silva grit his teeth and looked away, almost bashful at such an intimate sight. Kikyo moved a hand down to her inner thighs; when she drew her fingers away, she rubbed them together and analysed the slickness.

“Humans are so cruel, and they barely understand how.” She closed her legs and looked to him. When he looked back, she began gathering her robes to dress. Silva watched her from the water and lifted his head when she stood.

       “Come to me again when you have more, and I will entice you further, my love. But I will curse you with my absence. You will come to me one way or another.” She smiled and tugged her robe further up her shoulder. “Until we meet again, Silva.”

She turned without waiting for him. Silva could see the wet fringe of her hair fall over her face once again before her back was to him. She glided across the ground but didn't leave a trail of water behind her as she went. Silva watched her retreat before pulling himself up onto the earth shortly after.

He retrieved his shortsword and other items. He placed them upon his person and began his walk back to his horse.

Along the way, he fashioned a tale that would describe the woman, but of course, he left out the details of the mushroom's effects and their intimate moment together. Those he would share with the mysterious woman once he returned to town and coaxed her into sharing a drink.


End file.
